AFRICA: The Congo-based Ugandan rebel group, ADF, is to blame for three attacks on UN peacekeepers, the UN said.

AMERICAS: The US State Department has not spent any of the USD 120M allocated to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy.

ASIA: A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War, dramatically growing strategic ties between the former foes as China’s regional influence is rising.

EUROPE: Italy entered a period of political instability after national elections boosted populists but failed to produce a winner with enough support to patch together a parliamentary majority.

MIDDLE EAST: An aid convoy carrying urgently needed humanitarian supplies began entering the rebel-held Syrian area of the Eastern Ghouta.

TECHNOLOGY: Saudi-owned MBC Group was ordered to stop airing Turkish television programs, as tensions rise between Ankara and some Arab states.

TOP STORY

Korean Peninsula: North and South meet for continued dialogue.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is hosting a dinner for two South Korean delegates, the first time officials from Seoul have met the young leader since he took office in 2011.

Chung Eui-yong, who is leading the South Korean delegation, said the key aim was denuclearization.

Chung will travel to Washington after returning from Pyongyang to brief the Trump administration on the meeting.

The trip is part of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attempt to broker a diplomatic solution to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in the wake of the thaw brought about by the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Washington remains deeply skeptical of any such attempt by the South without any progress in international efforts to end the North’s nuclear weapons program.

Region: Zambia wants South African retailers to withdraw ready-to-eat meat imports from its stores after an outbreak of a deadly listeria was traced to a factory in South Africa. (Reuters)

Region: The Congo-based Ugandan rebel group, ADF, is to blame for three attacks on UN peacekeepers, the UN said. (Reuters)

DR Congo: Ethnic clashes between Hema herders and Lendu farmers in Ituri province have killed more than 40 people. (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Brazil: Gen. Richard Fernandez Nunes, head of public security in Rio de Janeiro, said social and economic plans are needed to address rising crime in the city. (AP)

United States: President Donald Trump spoke to world leaders about his planned tariffs and is not considering any exemptions to the measure. (Reuters)

United States: The State Department has not spent any of the USD 120M allocated to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy. (NYT)

ASIA

Region: China signalled it was hardening its stance on dissent in Taiwan and Hong Kong. (AFP)

Region: A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War, dramatically growing strategic ties between the former foes as China’s regional influence is rising. (Reuters)

Region: More than a dozen protests erupted across Kashmir, clashing with police, after Indian soldiers killed four civilians and two suspected militants. (AP)

Philippines: The government asked the Supreme Court to expel the Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for allegedly not declaring her assets, in a new attempt to remove the nation’s judicial leader. (AP)

EUROPE

Belgium: Eight people were arrested in Brussels following counter-terror raids amid signs of a plot in preparation. (AFP)

Italy: The country entered a period of political instability after national elections boosted populists but failed to produce a winner with enough support to patch together a parliamentary majority. (WSJ)

Ukraine: The country accused Russia-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region of violating a new cease-fire agreement shortly after it went into force. (RFE/RL)

United Kingdom: Tens of thousands of households across Britain suffered water supply problems after pipes burst when snow thawed and normal weather conditions returned to the country. (Reuters)